Political pundits argue that the Solution Not Sides education programme, which claims to promote a “two sides narrative” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in British schools is simply meant to project the Tel Aviv regime’s accounts in a one-sided manner.
Solutions Not Sides, according to writer Asa Winstanle, is a “normalisation effort” between Palestinians and Israelis that began more than a decade ago.
“The problem with normalization and why most Palestinians reject normalization with Israel is because it’s trying to make an abnormal situation seem normal, ignoring the military occupation of the West Bank and seizure of the Gaza Strip,” Winstanle told during the Palestine Declassified program broadcast on Tuesday.
He went on to say that Solutions Not Sides, which is part of the One Voice organisation, is infiltrating schools in an insidious way thanks to intimate ties between its architects and the British government.
Solutions Not Sides, according to David Miller, a former lecturer at Bristol University, is a clever endeavour aimed at legitimising Zionism and the occupation of Palestinian lands.
He emphasised that Zionism is based on Islamophobia, and that British educational authorities are pressuring students not to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians, particularly those suffering in deplorable conditions in Gaza.
The government-backed education initiative, according to Winstanle, is focused at influencing the opinions of British pupils, particularly in Muslim-majority communities.
“If you get into their declaration of principles document, they admit that they oppose ‘advocacy and partisan solidarity’. And elsewhere, they say they’re against extremism. This is all kind of coded language really. When they say extremism, what they really mean is Muslims, Islam, and solidarity with Palestine,” he highlighted.
“It’s something of a smear effort,” the British journalist added, “because they’re trying to claim that solidarity with Palestine is equivalent to support for al-Qaeda or a terrorist organisation.”
He stressed that British teachers may be unfamiliar with how Israeli propaganda is often presented and how it deceives people.
Miller, for one, cited the Community Security Trust and the Forum for Discussion of Israel and Palestine (FODIP) as two British organisations actively promoting the Israeli regime’s narratives in British schools.
He labelled the Community Security Trust as a “primarily pro-Zionist” organisation that “pursues the interests of the Israeli regime” while “constantly attacking British Muslim organisations and groups who express solidarity with Palestinians.”
FODIP, according to the former Bristol University professor, is a slightly more complex organisation that was founded by the Council of Christians and Jews (CCJ).
The Community Security Trust and FODIP are both supported by the British Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, according to Miller.
While combating anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, as well as developing constructive relationships amongst British students of all religions, are vital goals, the two guests stressed that doing so should not come at the expense of the Palestinian liberation movement.
